Medical Marijuana

Is there really such a thing as medical marijuana? There has been much debate in the media about the use of medical marijuana (using marijuana as medicine). Under U.S. law since 1970, marijuana has been a Schedule I controlled substance. This means that the drug, at least in its smoked form, has no commonly accepted medical use.

In considering the possibility of medical marijuana, it is important to distinguish between whole marijuana and pure THC or other specific chemicals derived from cannabis. Whole marijuana contains hundreds of chemicals, some of which are clearly harmful to health. THC, manufactured into a pill that is taken by mouth, not smoked, can be used for treating the nausea and vomiting that go along with certain cancer treatments and is available by prescription. Another chemical related to THC (nabilone) has also been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating cancer patients who suffer nausea. The oral THC is also used to help AIDS patients eat more to keep up their weight.

Scientists are studying whether marijuana, THC, and related chemicals in marijuana (called cannabis/cannabinoids) may have other medical uses. According to scientists, more research needs to be done on marijuana's side effects and potential benefits before it can be recommended for medical use.

What are the cons of medical marijuana legalization?

A marijuana cigarette (joint) contains 50%-100% more tar than that of tobacco.

A study involving college students found that the heavy marijuana users made more errors and had more difficulty sustaining attention, shifting attention to meet the demands of changes in the environment, and in registering, processing, and using information. These findings suggest that the greater impairment among heavy users is likely due to an alteration of brain activity produced by marijuana.

Chronic heavy use may lead to lasting behavioral problems such as loss of motivation and paranoia, and physical problems such as impairment of lung function, and weight gain due to the appetite enhancing effects associated with marijuana use.

Marijuana can be a gateway drug, which means it can lead to the use of many other harmful drugs--Children ages 12-17 are 85 times more likely to use cocaine

Marijuana has been linked with teen violence, suicide, crime, and unsafe sex-HIV transmission.

Marijuana may produce a mild physical dependence that causes minor withdrawal symptoms when discontinued, including nausea, insomnia, irritability, and anxiety.

New harvesting methods made marijuana 20x more effective than it was 30 years ago. It can be laced with other drugs and the smoker won't even know.

People may experience adverse effects from medical marijuana use such as anxiety and paranoia. The anxiety can range anywhere from mild anxiety to complete panic.

Physical effects of marijuana may include diarrhea, cramps, weight loss or gain, and impaired sex drive

Research has shown that babies born to women who used marijuana during their pregnancies display altered responses to visual stimuli and increased tremulousness which may indicate problems with neurological development. Marijuana exposed children have also been found to have more behavioral problems and to perform tasks of visual perception, language comprehension, sustained attention, and memory poorly. In school, these children are more likely to exhibit deficits in decision-making skills, memory, and the ability to remain attentive.

Smoking marijuana by adolescent user can disrupt their emotional development, delay puberty, and can delay the monthly cycle in females.

Smoking one joint is equal to smoking 7-10 cigarettes.

Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may experience the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have. These individuals may include: daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. Continuing to use marijuana can lead to abnormal functioning of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke.

The chronic use of pure resin (hashish) has been associated with mental deformation and criminality.

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Marijuana Facts

The main active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; THC for short. Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (joint) or in a pipe. It is also smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana. Since the blunt retains the tobacco leaf used to wrap the cigar, this mode of delivery combines marijuana's active ingredients with nicotine and other harmful chemicals.

Marijuana can also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea. As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish, and as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor.

Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body.

THC acts upon specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors, kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the “high” that users experience when they smoke marijuana.

Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors (the area of the brain affected by marijuana use); others have few or none. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thoughts, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

Research on the long-term effects of marijuana abuse indicates some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs. For example, cannabinoid withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine. Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse.

Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite its known harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Long-term marijuana abusers trying to quit report irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which make it difficult to quit. These withdrawal symptoms begin within about 1 day following abstinence, peak at 2–3 days, and subside within 1 or 2 weeks following drug cessation.